Two rescue groups on the state's south coast are concerned a drop off in interest from young people interested in volunteering could affect their ability to save lives at sea.

The Albany Surf Life Saving Club (ASLSC) and the Albany Sea Rescue Squad (ASRS) are appealing for younger people to step up to learn ocean rescue work.

Leaders of the two volunteer groups are concerned that their teams are getting into their 40s and 50s, with the next generation of rescuers apparently unwilling to commit the time needed to learn skills and gain proficiency certificates.

The south coast near Albany is notoriously deadly for fishermen and boat owners, with nine people having lost their lives in the ocean since 2012 and Albany rescue crews involved in fourteen operations.

But desperate for new volunteers to help out, ASLSC president Rob Mason said Albany was losing a lot of young people who were heading to Perth to study or pursue careers.

"We have a real gap of people in their late teens to those in their early 30s, so it tends to fall to people of our vintage — 40 and beyond — that are doing this role," he said.

Along with operating beach patrols, the ASLSC has two jet skis with a team of seven trained volunteers.

"Our activities are quite different from the metro jet ski operators where they are just operating within 400 to 500 metres of the shoreline. Most of our operation is out in blue water, quite some distance away," Mr Mason said.

"We go through the basic lifesaving techniques to start with the bronze medallion, and then look at the advanced awards beyond that — resuscitation techniques and spinal techniques.

"Then [it's about] being able to drive an inflatable rescue boats first and having a skippers ticket, and then [we] start training on the jet skis."

Flexibility vital to rescue operations

The two rescue groups have forged a unique working relationship over the past five years, with the surf life saving jet skis accompanying the larger ASRS vessels out to rescue and recovery operations in the Southern Ocean.

"We've had people who have injured themselves on remote beaches and we've been able to get onto the beach and take the injured people back out to the sea rescue vessel waiting off the coast," he said.

"Without the jet skis and the training we do, that would be next to impossible."

But both groups are struggling to find new young recruits willing and capable of being on-call day and night.

"We need them to be able to respond quickly, so flexibility in work becomes another issue, where particularly younger people don't necessarily have the same control of their working hours," Mr Mason said.

'Huge burden of responsibility'

ASRS operations co-ordinator Chris Johns has been with the volunteer squad for 17 years.

The squad has around 40 locals monitoring marine radio and manning the boat crews — with retirees make up a big percentage and younger volunteers hard to find.

Features

Former treasurer Wayne Swan says that real private sector wages have grown by just 1 per cent under the Abbott and Turnbull governments, which he says equates to only one year of growth under the previous Labor government.